Pet Friendly Lawn Care Products: Keeping Your Lawn Green And Your Pet Safe
Certain types of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer that you apply on your lawn can make your pets ill. Studies show that pets, especially dogs have the tendency to nibble on grass and accidentally ingest harmful chemicals present in the grass. To prevent accidental ingestion of harmful chemicals, you should only use pet friendly lawn care products on your yard.
Selecting pet friendly lawn care products is not really a problem. There are now many companies that are producing pet friendly lawn care products at an affordable price. Just look for products that are certified by veterinarians to be safe for pets. Products that are certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are also very safe to use.
Are Organic Products Better Than Those That Are Made Of Chemicals?
Yes, organic products are a lot safer compared to those products that are laden with chemicals. The good thing about most of these pet friendly lawn care products is that they do not just keep your pets safe, they are also very friendly to the environment. Manure from cows, bats and sea birds are usually used in these pet friendly lawn care products. Since manure are naturally occurring products and are bio-degradable, it does not really harm the environment so you can stop feeling guilty about contributing to the destruction of the environment when you use these organic pet friendly lawn care products.
Is It Possible To Make Your Own Pet Friendly Lawn Care Products At Home?
Yes, you can make your own pet friendly lawn care products at home. Organic fertilizer is the one of the pet friendly lawn care products that you can easily produce at home. Waste products from the kitchen such as food left-over, fruit peelings and the likes can be composted. Composting is the natural process of decomposing biodegradable materials and turning these materials into organic rich soil. The process is very simple. All you need to do is to store the waste materials somewhere safe and allow the biodegradable waste materials to rot with the aid naturally occurring bacteria. The time needed to complete breakdown the biodegradable materials vary depending on the type of materials used in composting. The climate of your place may also affect the decomposition process. Once the biodegradable materials have completely decomposed, you can now use the compost as fertilizer. According to studies, compost can be just as effective as most other types of fertilizer.
Choosing Organic Lawn Care Products
If you want a great lawn you may think there is no way to avoid chemical products. You may also be worried about what chemical pesticides and fertilizers do to the environment or the danger it poses to your family and pets. There is another option, organic lawn care products. Organ lawn care products are safer for the kids and pets while making the environment better.
Have A Healthy Lawn
Good maintenance practices is the first step towards having an excellent organic lawn. Make sure you mow your grass high in order to prevent the grass from burning and to choke out any weeds. By mowing high you will also have a lawn that looks more lush and green. When watering your lawn make sure you do it infrequently and deeply in order to encourage the grass to develop deep roots.
Fertilizers
When it comes to organic lawn care products, fertilizers don’t get very high marks. Most fertilizer organic lawn care products smell bad and are difficult to use. However, they are the better option to use when compared to manure. For years golf courses used Milorganite which was a by-product of the Milwaukee sewage treatment plants and today many municipal sewage treatment plants offer similar products. These organic lawn care products are granular fertilizers, although they are approved for use on organic crops according to the official food labeling standards. However, for your home lawn they are an excellent choice. Another great organic fertilizer to use is alfalfa meal, it is easy to spread and doesn’t have a bad smell.
Pesticides
Typically you won’t have to worry about pest infestations if you have a healthy lawn. But if you do have a pest problem there are organic lawn care products that can help without you having to resort to chemicals. Diatomaceous earth is the best natural option for controlling fleas, slugs and lawn grubs. Many organic pest control products on the market contain this ingredient. Other options for organic lawn care products include those that have neem oil, garlic or pepper sprays and cedar based products.
Weeds
It is very easy to take care of weeds, have a healthy lawn that will choke out the weeds itself. Spot treat with a horticultural or pickling strength vinegar for any particularly stubborn weeds. To avoid killing nearby grass you should paint the leaves rather than spraying. A natural pre-emergent is to treat your lawn in the early spring with corn gluten. However, if you are trying to sprout grass seed then don’t use a pre-emergent.
Organic Lawn Care Provides Greener, Cleaner Lawn
There are many people who want a good-looking lawn but do not want to subject the environment to tons of chemical fertilizers and pesticides year after year. With more attention being paid to the environment, many are looking to organic lawn care to get rid of weeds and keep their lawn green and plush. Understanding how the ecosystem works can offer a better view of how organic lawn care can achieve the same results without the need for synthetic materials.
With over 18 percent of municipal landfills coming from yard waste, homeowners are throwing away natural fertilizer every time they cut and rake their yard. By using mulching mower blades the grass clippings are chewed up and can be left on the ground where they will mulch into food for the grass. This exercise in organic lawn care also reduces the amount of waste in landfills. When the grass clippings are too long to leave on the yard, rake them up and use them for fertilizer in the garden or flower beds.
Hand raking will also help remove any excess thatch under the grass, allowing the water to get to the roots. On top of that, it is also good exercise. Insect infestation may also be damaging the roots of the grass and with organic lawn care there are several natural products that can urge the insects to move to greener pastures while allowing the good insects to hang around and offer pollination to other plants.
Lawn Care Can Harm Environment
While a greener lawn certainly makes a house look better, consider that on average, every hour a typical gasoline lawn mower is used, it produces between 10 and 12 times the amount of hydrocarbon than the average car. Using a manual powered reel mower can reduce the pollution will chewing up the clippings for organic lawn care fertilizer. Hand trimming around obstacles can also reduce pollutants since the average weed eater releases about 20 times the hydrocarbon as a car and a leaf blower throws out about 34 times more.
Weeds can also be controlled with organic lawn care, by treating spots with white vinegar and for treating large areas for weed control corn gluten can show vast reductions of weeds in less than a week. While chemical fertilizers and pesticides can end up in the water supply when it is washed down through the soil, natural products will not cause any harm to anyone using the water.